If Notre Dame is going to move on and play for a championship it will need another strong performance from the Irish defense. here are my keys to victory for the Irish defense. 1) Dominate Up The Middle - A key to Notre Dame's defensive success the last two seasons has been the play of the interior of its defensive line,

Xavier Watts and Notre Dame's fierce defense will be tasked with smothering Penn State on Thursday in the Orange Bowl, launching the College Football Playoff semifinals. The Irish are slight favorites to advance.

Call it the Worlds Colliding Bowl for Al Golden, the Notre Dame football defensive coordinator who coached at both Miami and Penn State ahead of Thursday's Orange Bowl in the College Football Playoff.

Notre Dame earned two College Football Playoff victories despite the offense not playing its best football. The unit did enough to win both games thanks to elite play from the defense and special teams. Against Penn State the Irish offense will need to play much better.

Before Notre Dame’s football team departed for Thursday’s matchup with Penn State in the Orange Bowl, players found highlights from the schools’ matchup on Nov. 17, 1990. Notre Dame, the No. 1 team in the country at the time,

Notre Dame Al Golden hasn’t made this week about him and his connection with Penn State. The 55-year-old Golden played tight end

During Al Golden’s coaching career, he has bounced back-and-forth from the NFL and the college ranks with his latest stop obviously being with the Notre Dame Fighting Irish. This is his second stint in South Bend,

Notre Dame defensive coordinator Al Golden was a Penn State captain and almost its head coach. Now he leads the Fighting Irish's stout defense vs. the Nittany Lions in the Orange Bowl.